The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

Blue ice or frozen airplane waste? Potato, pot-ah-to but for two homeowners on Long Island, it all boils down to the same result — gaping holes in the roof. The Federal Aviation Administration is trying to figure out how the homes got damaged and whether or not homeowners are correct in thinking that something super gross fell from a plane passing overhead.

The hole in one roof is about the size of a basketball and was caused by something rocketing through singles, plywood and insulation early on Sunday morning, reports CBS New York.

“We both woke up to a very loud bang. I looked around — no breeze, no rain, nothing,” that homeowner said.

Meanwhile next door in another Donnie Darkoesque moment, another hole was punched through that roof at the same time.

“It’s a very huge hole. It did a lot of damage through heavy wood. I can’t imagine if it hit a person,” said the other homeowner. Her roofer found a “brown, wet stain” in the attic and said it had to be from an airplane.

“It’s hard to understand what could have done this. It had to have come from a plane. A bird couldn’t have done it.”

The FAA is used to this happening once in awhile, as airplane toilets leak, the waste freezes at high altitudes and then breaks off in chunks that are known by a decidedly less gross name than “frozen airplane waste” — “blue ice.” Almost sounds like something you’d buy from the ice cream man.

Inspectors from the FAA are going to check into the situation and see what could’ve been flying overhead at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, and ask any airlines that were in the sky to check for toilet leaks.

In the meantime, the homeowners could be on the hook for some pretty expensive repairs, if it can’t be proved that a specific airline caused the blue ice to rain down. A very stinky situation, to say the least.